


Late Cait

by cuddlingqueen



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Drabble, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 22:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3546203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddlingqueen/pseuds/cuddlingqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caitlin misses her ride to a conference and Barry offers to speed her over. But, she refuses to be carried there. The solution: Caitlin roller-skates behind Barry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late Cait

([inspiration](http://theoryofwar.tumblr.com/post/102111282148))

* * *

“No.”

“But…”

“Nuh-uh.”

“But…”

“Nope!”

Caitlin crossed her arms and stared him down.

“Caitlin, there’s no other way. If you want to make it there on time, you have to put these on.”

Caitlin realized Barry was right. But this, this was _humiliating_. She was never going to live this down.

“Alright.”

Barry handed her the bag and she begrudgingly took it. She sat down on the curb of the street and opened it up. At least they were a nice, crisp white, and not some neon color. That might’ve been the catalyst to throw her over the edge. She took off her red pair of heels and put them in the bag. They were the perfect match to her red dress. She laced up her new pair of footwear with care, making sure every notch was taught.

Barry offered a hand to help her up, but she waved him off. She got to her feet slowly, with her hands outstretched on both sides to steady her balance. She smiled at her success. She looked back up to Barry, who had caught her smiling and now wore one of his own. She quickly reverted back to her pout.

“I’m not going to enjoy this,” Caitlin retorted.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Barry let out a little chuckle. Caitlin had been complaining for the last 20 minutes while she was getting ready. He, of course, had stood outside her bedroom door and soaked it all in while she changed from her STAR Labs attire into a much more suitable one. Their latest mission had Caitlin running a little late for her speech at the ASHG conference. She had explained what it stood for, but he couldn’t remember it; it went in one ear and out the other, as did much of the information she spewed out whilst fumbling around her apart trying to find all the things she needed. She was talking faster than Barry could understand, which he noted was quite an accomplishment actually. Barry, being the gentleman he is, offered to speed her over, but there was no way he was going to carry her the whole way, especially with her laptop bag and other supplies in tow. There was also something she didn’t like about “being carried like a kid,” which he managed to hear in the jumbled mess coming out of her mouth. He had finally found a solution, but he still had some convincing to do. It might have bothered someone else that she was complaining so much, but Barry found her attitude quite amusing. She was cute when she was grumpy.

“Care to take a step forward?” Barry asked.

Caitlin squinted her eyes at him and looked down at her feet. _She could do this. One step._ She took a sharp breath and stepped forward. _She made it!_ Feeling brave, she took another. _Yes!_ Now, brimming with confidence that she could, in fact, do this, she took a full stride toward Barry.

She stretched one leg forward a little too quickly. Her other leg shot back in reaction, and she scrambled to get her legs back together.

It was not her most graceful moment.

Barry reached out and cupped her elbows, steadying her.

“You okay?”

She nodded.

“You’ll do fine. I’ll be there the whole way.”

Caitlin was surprised by Barry in that moment. She had expected a laugh at her expense, maybe even a joke about Newton’s third law. After all, physical comedy was what he lived for. Instead, he was supportive. Barry somehow always knew when to laugh and when not to. He knew _her_.

Barry, who was already in costume, put up his hood. The rope on his end wrapped around his waist (his suit protected him from rope burn). Caitlin put on her harness and clicked her end of the rope onto it. Barry positioned himself 10 feet in front of her and shook out his limbs.

“Ready?” he called back to her.

“I think so!”

“Alright! 3… 2… 1… here we go!”

Barry started off at a normal jog, but soon enough she was seeing the trees on the side of the road go by faster than she had ever seen before. She saw the whole world zoom past her. It was truly a surreal experience.

_Caitlin Snow was roller skating behind The Flash._

Suddenly, they had arrived at their destination. Barry had gradually increased his speed on the way there, but he either forgot he had Caitlin in tow or he didn’t know when to apply the brakes by the time they got there. Caitlin came within inches of slamming into him before he turned around and caught her.

“See? Told you I’d catch you.” Barry smiled at her.

Caitlin playfully hit his chest with the back of her hand.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For being so snarky when you’re right.”

“But, I was right?”

She rolled her eyes. “ _Yes._ ”

She remembered the reason why they were in situation and stepped back from him. She glanced at her watch: only a few minutes to spare.

“Oh! I’ve gotta go.”

She quickly changed out of her roller skates and back into her heels. While unlacing, she took a moment to look up at her surroundings. She realized that a few people were starting to stare at them. She wondered why at first, but then she thought about it from their perspective. It must be an odd sight, watching The Flash help a woman out of roller skates.

This time she didn’t grumble when Barry offered to help her up. She gratefully took his hands. She collected her belongings and saw that the few onlookers were starting to turn into a crowd. They parted for her as she rushed towards the door of the conference center. After a few paces, she put down her stuff. She forgot one very important thing. She turned around and rushed back to Barry. She leaned up on her heels and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, Barry.”

There were some oh’s from the crowd, but she ignored them. Barry stared at her, dumbfounded, as she gave him a very rare Caitlin smile and turned back around. She swore she saw one girl in the crowd that looked jealous, which only made her smile bigger. She desperately hoped that Barry hadn’t seen her blush.

He had.

And the whole way home, he did too.


End file.
